


The Critical Lead Character

by yourlibrarian



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 03:53:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6688144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How do we get to know characters?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Critical Lead Character

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on May 1, 2006

A few days ago I saw a post, though never got to actually read it, about what characters are indispensable to a show. And it made me think about what makes for great characters.

To me the sign of a great character is that the show the character appears in has you hooked in a fannish way. Mind you, the show has to have something else going for it as well. I have on occasion been able to continue watching a show for the sake of a character alone, or a pair of characters. And I have watched many shows in which I enjoyed the show but had no real desire to go further than just viewing. But if it’s a good show and it’s got a great character, that to me is the equation for fannish interest.

To me Veronica Mars is an example of a show that could not do without its lead. This is mostly because she is by far the best developed character, and second because the relationships among the other main characters is almost non-existent. She is the hub for everything, take her away and there’s nothing left. 

I think it's inevitable that there are a lot of comparisons between Buffy and Veronica Mars. Though Veronica is irreplaceable on her show, I think Buffy by S3 could have gone on with someone else (say Faith) in the lead. It would have been a different show obviously, but there were a lot of changes in S4 anyway so I think it could have been done. That’s not to say that Buffy wasn’t a great character, but she was one of many. Which is also why I am so captivated by the Buffyverse. Over time all the characters became fascinating, but they needed time to develop. 

Veronica has, in a season’s time, become a striking character yet still a mystery, which is quite interesting given the screen time she gets. In part this is because the show is so very plot driven. But I think it’s also because different sides of her don’t seem to develop much in relation to the different characters. We see her best with her father, as she is both intellectually challenged and fairly open with him. She is fun to watch with Wallace, especially when they are being partners in crime. Yet she strikes me as being remarkably the same with Duncan, Logan, and Leo when involved with them (not that we’ve gotten to see much of that), and the same with Weevil and everyone else when she’s not. It would be nice to see more of her with Mac or another female character, but this never seems to happen much. 

By comparison it’s hard to imagine Buffy not interacting with Joyce, Willow, Cordelia, Dawn or Faith. With all Veronica Mars' characters, the different dynamics of their interactions are what’s missing for me, yet what makes all the Jossverse characters rich. Put Character A with Character F in a scene and something different happens to the characters than if they’re in a scene with Character C or H. It strikes me that this is part of the appeal to Joss in writing, much the same as it is for most fanfic writers. Put two characters in a situation together and see what happens, the situation is just the catalyst.

Which is why I find Veronica most interesting to watch when with her father or Logan, because these seem to be the only characters who start bringing out new things in her. She learns from her father, and she’s conflicted about Logan. With everyone else she is either warm, such as Duncan and Wallace, or at a bit of a distance from. But it’s early days yet. Hopefully we’ll get to go on a long journey with her just as we did with Buffy.


End file.
